The federal government wiretapped Paul Manafort during 2016 and after, according to a new report. This is significant, since Manafort was wiretapped when he served as Donald Trump’s campaign manager.
Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the government obtained a secret court order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2014. The warrant allegedly focused on his work consulting for the government of Ukraine.
That warrant was reportedly ended in 2016, but the FBI obtained a second one soon after which lasted until early 2017, including periods when Manafort was speaking with Trump.
The second warrant was allegedly part of the ongoing investigation into Russia’s election meddling and any ties between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. Investigators began monitoring Manafort again after he left the Trump campaign in August of last year.
Manafort has emerged as a key figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian investigations.